Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

242 reviews

booknerdcoco's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was so far out of my comfort zone. I don't usually go for grimdark fantasy. That being said, the Story was very well written. I did initially struggle with the world building, but it didn't take long to get a tester understanding of Kuang's world and the usual system in play.

I admit I really struggled with the content as the story does differ some dark themes in great detail and three fact that it is loosely based on historic events really impacts on the readers emotions as the journey through the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Death, Animal death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Genocide, Violence, War, Gore, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Torture

sleepycaboose's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, War, and Violence

lindseyhall44's review

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I genuinely think that this might be one of the greatest fantasy novels I have ever read. R.F. Kuang is an incredible talent, and both her academic background and love of reading show in every page. It is a difficult read, but a rewarding one, and I am excited (and very afraid) to get my hands on the next installment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, and War

astralfeline's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is an amazingly well written book with a ton of world building and very complex characters and themes. At some points it felt like it dragged a bit but I think that's because we see a very long development and I don't think I was prepared to get so sucked in. That's why I gave it a 4.5 star. But I would LOVE to come back at a later time and really closely reread and annotate this book because I think it is the type that would be fun to comb over like that. Definitely recommend if you enjoy historical fiction and fantasy, this book is a great combination of the two genres. I will also add this book has some tough to read moments. It does deal with war, drug use/addiction (opium), murder/death, and has some really dark parts -- definitely check out the TWs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Classism, Death, War, and Addiction

Moderate: Genocide, Body horror, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture, Child death, Kidnapping, and Self harm

averyadventurous's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There’s been talk in a lot of bookish spaces about fantasy as a genre having an empire problem. R.F. Kuang completely subverts that trope. Empires are bad. Power of any type is bad. She pulls no stops with this book. It’s brutal. It’s disgusting. It’ll make you question your life choices and reconsider everything you think you know about world history. I need the rest of the series immediately.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Violence, War, Drug use, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Torture, Body horror, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Infertility, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Child death, Addiction, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

readwithsophsx's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, War, Child death, Torture, Violence, Rape, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Drug use, Slavery, Physical abuse, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Drug abuse, Self harm, Murder, Medical trauma, and Cursing

misszoehatter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Genocide, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Drug use, Murder, Addiction, Grief, Kidnapping, War, Body horror, Gore, Infertility, Rape, and Violence

booking_along's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i don’t know yet how to feel about this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Murder, Medical content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, War, Sexism, Rape, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Drug use, Bullying, and Addiction

bookishedi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Child death, Blood, Genocide, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, War, Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs

Minor: Vomit, Sexual assault, and Torture

chiaraculpo's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

la parte iniziale è quella che mi è piaciuta di più, mentre era l'accademia. non mi aspettavo he la parte della guerra fosse così lunga sinceramente e mi sono annoiata in molti punti. le parti in cui descrivevano gli dei non mi hanno fatto impazzire e molte volte non capivo. è un libro molto duro e non so se continuerò la trilogia: in questo momento non andrò avanti ma non escludo che potrei farlo in futuro.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Kidnapping, Self harm, Colonisation, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Racism, Rape, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Violence, Addiction, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Animal death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Infertility, War, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Vomit